Ashes starts in Edgbaston, England' Favorite field — June 16. Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images. The Ashes will launch in Edgbaston in 36 days.
At first glance, many of their players don't like what would be considered perfect preparation.
Briefly about the participants of the Indian Premier League: Captain Ben Stokes is back in shape, but can't make it to Chennai Super Kings XI; Joe Root recently made his IPL debut but hasn't played in a match since February; Harry Brook scored one century and several low points for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and was eliminated; Jofra Archer returned home sick and in need of rest; Mark Wood is in the same boat as Stokes but will be returning home soon due to the birth of his second child.
There are two championship rounds before the Tests, so what about those who play cricket at home? Johnny Bairstow just returned from eight months away, dropped to No. 7 (due to two night watchmen) and left stranded 20 and then promoted to No. 3 in a chase and made a duck so he'll want a score in Durham on this week. Ollie Stone is awaiting scan results for a hamstring injury but, like Saqib Mahmood, is by no means a guaranteed starter for his district.
Meanwhile, Ollie Robinson's season start has been disrupted by back pain that required an injection. After a truly beautiful 45 over in Worcester last week, he rested in this round. Ben Fawkes appears to have missed the game intermittently with a back injury.
Stokes bounced back but wasn't picked as Ash is fast approaching
Some are doing great. Ollie Pope, Stuart Broad and Chris Wookes are clearly comfortable enough in their preparations that they are taking a break from the championship this week. Jimmy Anderson looked great in Lancashire.
Zach Crowley has always been inconsistent, while Ben Duckett and Jack Leach will prepare by playing every game for their districts like the good old days. Stokes made it clear to them that they were free to manage their own preparation, playing as much as they pleased.
Of course, there are questions about the composition of the team. The strength of England's new leadership over the past year has been that they crossed bridges on time. But the moment to decide how, with Bairstow's return, eight candidates to fit into the top seven, is not far off.
Crowley at the top and Fawkes at the bottom seem to be the most obvious dropouts. Based on his performance and track record, Crowley would have been a worthy candidate, but it would have required much more creative thinking. It's not easy, and there is still time for injury.
That's where we come to Stokes. It may not be such a bad thing that CSK is playing what their coach Mike Hussey describes as pitch flipping, causing Stokes to miss the game with an extra spin option as he returned from a toe injury. It's a curious situation for most English observers: Less than six months ago, Stokes was worth £1.6m to CSK at auction, and while he's not a force in T20 cricket, he still won last year's World Cup Final for England. and it's, well, Stokes.
But instead of playing, he practices («really good,» according to Hussie) and then sits on the bench in designer sunglasses. As long as he does that, his toe is not at risk and his chronic left knee injury is resting a bit more, which may mean a few more overs this summer. In any case, with only two games left before he was due to return from the IPL, it is likely that he will go to the Ireland Test without playing for two months.
Ashes 2023 Schedule
He won't mind. Before tours of Pakistan and New Zealand this winter, he did not bat or bowl in anger in the warm-up matches in England and handed over the reins to Pope. He's managing on his own, so don't expect him to return ahead of schedule to play for Durham in Bristol next week. Yes, there is a risk that he will go undercooked, but he knows as well as anyone. Only time will tell.
Australians are in the same position. Someone is warming up in county cricket, someone in IPL, someone does little. Pat Cummins has been out of action since February 18 and has since been traumatized by the death of his mother Maria. Based on a podcast he did this week with Rio Ferdinand — an unusual alliance, yes — this long period of rest and the physical refreshment he has to provide could make him even more dangerous than before.
They will prepare for the World Testing Finals with a golf trip to Merseyside and a camp at Beckenham. The WTC Final makes Australia's schedule even busier than England's, with a maximum of 31 days of Test cricket scheduled over 53 days. No wonder they don't have time to play against one district. In this and many other ways, this is preparing Ash like never before.
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